Ballet dancer killed by train had visited suicide websites

A 15 year-old schoolgirl suffering from bulimia killed herself by lying in
front of a train after visiting websites that promoted suicide and self
harm, an inquest has heard.

Rosie Whitaker died after she was hit by a train at Beckenham Junction, Kent in June 2012Photo: Cascade

1:14PM GMT 29 Nov 2012

The family of Rosie Whitaker, a talented ballet dancer who had performed at the Royal Opera House, warned of the dangers of such sites. Rosie's parents said she had been "stressed" by the 10 GCSEs she had been taking and which had contributed to her eating disorder.

Andrew Pagram, the train driver, who has been off sick since the incident, said he saw a shadow drop on to the tracks at Beckenham Junction station in south–east London but realised it was a person only when he got close.

Rosie had self–inflicted injuries on her body.

In January, her mother, Vanja, noticed that her daughter was self-harming. She took Rosie to her GP, who referred the teenager to a child eating disorder unit.

In a statement read in court, Mrs Whitaker, of Beckenham, criticised this approach, saying she felt doctors "missed the point" in concentrating on her eating disorder rather than her self–harming.